Skies of Arcadia Legends
Skies of Arcadia Legends is an enhanced port of the Dreamcast RPG Skies of Arcadia. The game features slightly improved graphics, more weapons, and extra side missions. The subtitle "Legends" was added to distinguish it from the original release of 2000, coming out two years later. The game was also to be released for the PlayStation 2, but was canceled prior to the GameCube release.PS2 Skies of Arcadia canceled New Features Swashbuckler Rating Update Main Article: Swashbuckler Rating There have been a few changes to the system, including the special ranks between King of Rogues and Legend. Also, Legend now has completely different conditions. The "Fallen Pirate" rank was added for the bounty missions. Encounter Rate Random encounters occur less frequently and load considerably faster than the Dreamcast version, and EXP offered per battle is adjusted to compensate. Presentation Graphically, the game sports mild improvements to character models, most noticeably adding individual fingers to the designs. The modifier volume shadows and (weirdly enough) point-mipmapping from the original release are still present. Due to a less accurate z-buffer (24-bit integer instead of 32-bit floating of the PowerVR), polygons that are really close to one another may clip and tear into one another. This can be seen on some doors and door frames when you exit a building, as it clips where the door and frame meet (try it on Dyne's house at ground level of Pirate Isle). Drachma's Excavation Arm is one of the most visible examples of this, as its colored Moon Stone in the center clips and tears very badly with the rest of the weapon's model as camera perspective on Drachma moves in battle. Musically, a major cause of the sparse sound isn't the disc space (as tight a fit as it was), but not porting the music properly to the GameCube hardware. It originally used the Cybersound wavetable synth/sound engine for music playback, but when they were porting it as Legends they ended up using the MuseX audio engine. Many of the effects applied by Cybersound at playtime in the Dreamcast version are missing or badly simulated on Legends, resulting in instruments that tail-off to silence unnaturally and other weird oddities like slightly off pitch instruments at times. Many tracks have incorrect volumes, resulting in quiet drums and buried secondary instruments among other issues. Bounty System Main Article: Wanted List One of the new sidequests available is Bounty Hunting. Sailor's Guilds offer information about each person on the bounty list as they are unlocked through story progression. After reading about them, they can be found in a constant location. Discoveries There are a number of new discoveries to be found. Moon Hamachou and The Angel of Death Two linked sidequests. Piastol, the Angel of Death, is a new optional boss fought four times. The fourth fight is not unlocked, however, until 23 of 24 moonfish have been found. The Moon Hamachou quest is completed by finding all 24 moonfish hidden in various places throughout the game. Removed Features Pinta's Quest The idols are now useless for anything other than quick money. References Category:Skies of Arcadia Legends exclusive Category:Games